Former home of Brockton's Petronelli Gym may get new life

Tuesday

Aug 26, 2014 at 3:16 AMAug 26, 2014 at 3:19 AM

BROCKTON – The place where Marvelous Marvin Hagler once trained could soon be back in fighting shape.Israel Shear-Yashub, owner of the building at 28 Petronelli Way, is considering a formal offer for the downtown property and is expecting additional offers as well, said broker Jonathan Bowen.

Shear-Yashub confirmed Monday that a deal is in the works, but referred further questions to Bowen, owner of a real estate firm in Boston who is handling the property.

Bowen said there is no sale pending, but that the offer under consideration is “excellent” and a deal could be reached this week.

Beyond that, he declined to provide more details on the potential sale of the four-story, 19,000-square-foot building, zoned for commercial use.

“It’s been such a long haul with this property,” Bowen said. “I don’t want to jinx anything. It’s in a really delicate stage.”

The building has a long and varied history.

It was built in 1890, according to the city assessor’s office, and later hosted the St. Patrick’s Total Abstinence Society, formed in 1881 to fight for temperance. When the group wasn’t battling alcohol use, it sponsored amateur boxing bouts.

The boxing tradition continued when Pat and Goody Petronelli opened a gym on the third floor in 1980. The Petronellis helped keep alive Brockton’s boxing success throughout the 1970s and 1980s, training Hagler and other fighters.

In 1999, the city renamed Ward Street, off Main Street, as Petronelli Way in honor of the brothers’ accomplishments.

But the years took a toll.

The city closed the building several times, including in July 2010 when a 30-foot facade collapsed onto the sidewalk. The gym closed in January 2011, when power to the building was cut because a pipe in the sprinkler system burst.

The property directly abuts Trinity Financial’s $100 million redevelopment of the Enterprise block. It was assessed at $244,700 in 2013, but was listed for sale by Bowen for $1.

“This property needs a complete rehabilitation and isn’t useable in its current condition; it’s a brick shell,” Bowen wrote on his website. “The buyer must accept a no interest and no payment second mortgage for $150,000 with a balloon payment due in two years.”

Two years ago, a consultant hired by the city said redeveloping a few targeted buildings, including the former Petronelli Gym location, could have a “catalytic” impact on downtown revitalization efforts.

More recently, Mayor Bill Carpenter has been working with City Planner Rob May on a comprehensive downtown development plan. The city is considering tax incentives for investors of specific properties, according to Carpenter.

John Merian, president of the Downtown Brockton Association and chairman of the Brockton 21st Century Corp., said that the $120 million in public and private investment currently happening downtown “shows there is a real effort to revitalize the center of Brockton.”

“Outside developers are seeing that Brockton is a place of opportunity,” Merian said.